One Ring to Bind Them
by Earendil Eldar
Summary: A puzzle wedding ring from the future washes up from the Rift and it's Ianto who puts it together... thereby creating a particular bond between him and Jack. Except that Ianto's got the only one, so the effect only goes one way. Will the other one turn up as well, or will they have to find a way undo the bond so things can get back to "normal?" (Will be a multi-chapter.)
1. Chapter 1

Ianto strode into the Hub at a quarter to 10, shrugging off his jacket, tossing it at the nearest post, and rolling up his sleeves. "Morning," he called out buoyantly. "I'd go down on a weevil for a coffee right now," he said, jogging up the stairs.

Gwen, Tosh, and Owen just stared at Ianto, wondering just how much time Jack and Ianto were spending together. Jack stepped out of his office, giving Ianto a strange look. "Go down on a weevil?" he muttered.

"I _really_ don't want to know what the two of you get up to," Owen said, shaking his head.

Jack forced the requisite waggling brows but went to check on Ianto. "Hey," he said, finding Ianto in the meeting room with his feet up on the table. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah, great. Just waiting for the juice to kick in," Ianto grinned.

"Ok…," Jack said, at a loss. "I, um, called a couple times last night."

"Oh yeah. I was just… occupied."

Jack gave Ianto a questioning look. "Hey… isn't that the tie you had on yesterday?"

Ianto loosened his tie. "Didn't have time to -"

"And that is _not_ your cologne. Yan, were you… did you…?"

Ianto just grinned over his coffee.

Jack was gobsmacked, to say the least. Since when did _his_ Ianto go out on the pull…?

"Probably should have invited you along, you'd have loved it. He had a Prince Albert and it was…. Ok, what's with the codfish look?"

Jack snapped his mouth shut. "Ianto… you…."

Ianto shrugged with a grin. "Hey, not fair keeping this rationed, is it?"

Again, Jack was without words. He knew Ianto was a lot more adventurous than those immaculately tailored three-piece suits let on, but this… this just didn't seem like Ianto. _Insanely_ hot as the thought of Ianto picking up somebody – with a Prince Albert, no less - was… something wasn't right.

Eventually Jack just nodded and said, "ok, well… gotta check something with Tosh, so…." Jack's eyes went wide when Ianto groped his arse as he walked by.

* * *

"Tosh, anything unusual with the rift in the last 12 hours or so?" Jack asked curiously.

Tosh shook her head. "No, Jack. It's been calm. Nothing since a few days ago."

"When that bit of chain… whatever it was, came through," Jack said more than asked.

"It was a ring," Ianto said, coming down the stairs, his voice much more confident and clearer than usual.

"It was what?"

"A ring, Jack. Not even convinced it was space junk," Ianto said, leaning against Tosh's workstation and sipping his coffee. "It was a fairly basic Renaissance design. Rather common at festivals now."

"Yeah, except this one was made from hyper-endotitanium, which shouldn't be found anywhere in this solar system for about 6000 years."

Ianto shrugged and headed off toward the archives.

"Ianto, wait!" Tosh called. "Does that mean you've solved it?"

"Yeah. Piece of piss," Ianto said over his shoulder, not breaking his stride.

"What's up with teaboy?" Owen asked, emerging from the operating theatre. "Seems like Jack finally found that stick up -"

"Owen, how about doing a… brunch run?" Jack suggested brightly.

"Thought that was more Ianto's job description," Owen grumbled.

"Not at the moment," Jack grinned.

"Once again, I _really_ don't want to know what goes on in that file room," Owen reiterated.

"Jack… we didn't think it did anything as a chain. Maybe it had to be put together to be activated," Tosh guessed.

"I get the feeling that's the case," Jack said, heading to the archives to find Ianto.

* * *

"Ianto!" Jack called out.

"What?" Ianto shouted back from a far corner of the room.

"About that chain ring…."

"Puzzle ring. 'S on the desk. Really don't think it's much of anything. Hardly worth cataloguing."

Jack stared. "Ianto, you catalogue _everything_. I've never known anyone who catalogued anything more than you."

"Just a random bit of junk," Ianto shrugged.

Jack turned to Ianto's desk to have a closer look at the ring now that Ianto had it put together and he realized Ianto's desk was no longer neat-as-a-pin but covered in files and papers already. Ianto's coffee mug was even making rings on the folder at the top of the stack, something Ianto routinely chided Jack for.

Jack almost jumped when he felt Ianto's hand stroke his hip.

"Any ideas about what to do with it?" Ianto asked in a sex-heavy voice. "Unfortunately, it's a bit too small to do anything really _fun_ with."

Jack swallowed hard as Ianto's hand snaked forward and rubbed Jack's thigh. He took a long, stuttering breath when Ianto's lips found the pulse-point of Jack's neck. Finally Jack couldn't resist anymore. He turned and grasped Ianto in a tight embrace and a starving kiss. For months he'd been waiting for Ianto to feel comfortable enough to make a first move, and now Ianto was practically stripping him right there in the Torchwood 3 archives while they strove for control of the kiss.

Ianto reached behind Jack to shove papers off his desk while pushing Jack back. Jack could feel how hard Ianto was as he pushed himself back against Ianto. It was one of the hottest moments Jack could imagine. So when he broke the kiss and held Ianto off a bit, he felt like he was being the biggest fool that side of Andromeda.

"I _really_ need to check out that ring."

Ianto fixed Jack with an incredulous look.

"I know. Later, I promise." Jack spotted the intricate ring on Ianto's desk and pocketed it quickly.

"I'm leaving an hour early," Ianto said. "If you aren't in my bed by 5, I'll be forced to seek satisfaction elsewhere…."

"Well, if you do, invite me!" Jack said, unable to help it.

* * *

"Alright, Tosh. Second opinion on this?" Jack said, setting the ring beside her keyboard.

"Sure, Jack. Any precautions?"

"I don't think it's dangerous," Jack said. "That doesn't mean I think it's entirely harmless, though."

Tosh nodded in understanding and set to work. After about half an hour, she was shaking her head in frustration and called for Jack.

"I think we've got it wrong, Jack. I still can't get any kind of reading from this at all. Unless it's something completely new to us, but I can't -"

Just then a screen on one of the monitors flashed an alert that a signal was picked up.

"Unbelievable. I had that monitor on it the entire time and it was dead…."

Jack crossed his arms thoughtfully. Tapping his ear-piece, he asked Ianto to come up for a minute. "I'll be right back, Tosh," Jack said, running back up to his office.

Within seconds, Jack heard her (subdued) cry of frustration. "It's gone off again, Jack!" Tosh shouted. After a few moments, though, Tosh exclaimed, "And it's back now!"

Jack looked up to see Ianto walking into the main workspace of the hub and he nodded to himself. Ianto jogged up the stairs to Jack's office and Jack waited to hear Tosh's confirmation of his suspicion – "Gone again, Jack! I think this thing's mad."

"What's up, Jack?" Ianto asked.

Jack grinned. "How much do you like me?" he asked Ianto.

"You really called me up here for that?" Ianto asked dubiously. "If you'd stayed around a little longer earlier, you'd have found out. And you _will_ find out tonight," Ianto grinned.

Jack crossed his arms. "Well, it's kind of important that I know. See… we are currently _half_-married."

* * *

Ianto laughed. "Don't you think that's a little quick, Jack? Might be nice if you asked first…. You know, romantic evening, nice dinner… good bottle of my favorite wine before popping that question."

"Yeah, except _you're_ the one that's half-married to _me_."

Ianto stood with his hands on his hips. "Well, it typically goes both ways,"

"But you've got the only ring. The one you put together. I didn't recognize it until I saw how it was working. See, Tosh wasn't getting any reading on it at all until I was in proximity to it. Then it fired up again when you were around it. And, Ianto… you're acting a lot like me today. That means it's out of balance. If I had the other one, we'd be perfectly normal. Or if I was the one who'd solved it, I'd be acting like you. Which could be kind of interesting."

"Jack…," Ianto said slowly. "What bullocks are you talking?"

"I remember one of our Agents had one. I don't remember what planet it was from, but he was married there on holiday and they got these rings. He explained that if he took his off for too long, he'd start acting like his wife. And vice-versa. It was supposedly a way to keep spouses faithful, knowing they wouldn't be able hide the change in their personality. He lost his left arm shortly before I quit the Agency, ring, wrist-strap, and all. It wasn't pretty... though he was."

"But I haven't put it on," Ianto said.

"But you _did_ put it together. So, my guess is by doing that you formed a bond. And since you haven't had it on… you're acting like me. So… I'm further guessing that if you put it on, you'll be good, old Ianto again."

Ianto looked at Jack for a long moment then went down to Tosh's station and picked up the ring. He glanced up to Jack's office before shrugging and trying the ring on. "I don't know about this. I generally don't care much for jewelry," Ianto muttered. "Cold in here," he said, pushing his sleeves down and buttoning the cuffs. "Bloody creases," he grumbled, tugging at the sleeves.

Jack watched from his office as Ianto fussed with his shirt before glaring at his suit coat slung over a railing. That clinched it, then. They were half-married…. Jack found himself feeling unaccountably disappointed that it only went one way.

Several minutes later, Jack got a sharp ringing in his ear when Ianto shouted over the comms:

"Jack _bloody_ Harkness! What the _hell_ happened down here?!"

Jack cringed and hurried down to the archives to help Ianto sort the mess that had been Ianto's workspace.

* * *

"So…," Jack said, putting away the last of the files, "still thinking of knocking off early?"

"Of doing what? Are you mad, Jack? I've lost nearly a day's work down here."

"Right, yeah. It's just… earlier, when you weren't wearing _that_… you kinda threatened - or was it promised? – that if I wasn't in your bed by 5 sharp you were going out on the pull."

"On the pull? Jack, have you any idea when the last time _I_ pulled was?"

"You could, no challenge at all!" Jack insisted.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Why am I wearing this hideous thing anyway? I don't do jewelry." Before Jack could stop him, Ianto tugged off the puzzle ring and set it on his (now-tidy) desk. With a deep breath, Ianto turned to Jack. "I don't know about you, but I think we've had a fair day's work. Couple drinks, maybe a bite, back to mine and see how the night goes?"

Jack wanted to laugh at the transformation. There was no doubt about how that ring was working on Ianto. It couldn't possibly hurt him, though… so Jack decided – just for the night – to enjoy the benefit of Ianto Jones' newfound sex drive.


	2. Chapter 2

"Yan…," Jack panted, "I don't think I've ever… wow…."

"Oh, don't try to tell us that was your first multiple orgasm. You do it all the time," Ianto laughed.

"You mean he… I didn't think guys could…. What kind of yoga do you have to do for that?"

"Jack is gifted," Ianto smiled to their companion as he snuggled in under Jack's arm.

"Obviously. Not very fair to the rest of us. You'd make a killing in porn, mate," the guy from the bar snickered.

Jack had yet to take his eyes from Ianto. He couldn't believe they'd just had an insanely hot three-way… that was all Ianto's idea.

"Well, look… think I'll leave you two to it, yeah?"

"Oh… yeah, sorry…," Jack apologized. Ianto had fallen asleep on his shoulder and he didn't want to move him to show the other guy out. "Um… it was… Kevin?"

"Keith. Don't worry about it. I can't imagine what multiple orgasms do to your mind. See m'self out. Thanks for a really brilliant Tuesday night. Maybe we will all meet up again."

"Yeah, we'll see."

"You're cool to do that for your boyfriend. Nothin' to be jealous about, though, mate. He's obviously crazy about you."

Jack didn't bother explaining. He just kissed Ianto's forehead and thanked Keith, asking him to turn the lock on the way out.

As Jack came down from the rush of dopamine he'd gotten that night, he suddenly started to feel awful. _His_ Ianto wasn't into threesomes, and if it wasn't for some bit of space junk Jack doubted Ianto would have been comfortable with a few of the things they did that night. Deep down, Jack knew he was taking advantage of something Ianto had no control over. And while it had been fun at the moment, looking at the man in his arms now, Jack didn't like it at all. That wasn't the fussy, quiet, determined man he'd fallen for.

"Where's my Ianto in there?" he whispered, kissing Ianto's forehead. He _needed_ to figure out how to get things right again.

* * *

In the morning, Jack woke to a particularly pleasant sensation. He was pretty sure he couldn't recall his last wake-up blowie and for a while he just lie there and enjoyed it. Ordinarily when he woke up in Ianto's flat it was to a quick peck on the cheek and, all too often, something about a Rift alert. He was the one more likely to wake Ianto with amorousness of one sort or another, usually indulged with the caveat that they still had to get ready for work.

That's when Jack remembered what was different and he sighed. Stroking Ianto's shoulder, Jack reluctantly called his name to get him to stop.

Ianto pulled off slowly, deliberately, and grinned up at Jack. "Just a 'thanks' for last night," he winked.

"You're welcome," Jack responded as Ianto shifted to lie back down beside him.

"Does the boss say we can have a late morning?" Ianto asked seductively, fingers stroking the back of Jack's neck.

"My Ianto's idea of late is anything less than an hour _early_," Jack pointed out.

"_Your_ Ianto? I doubt there's two of us," Ianto grinned. "Although… Torchwood, wouldn't doubt it. Would that be kinky, or creepy… or both?"

"I just think we'd better not tempt the Rift," Jack said apologetically, moving to get out of bed.

"Alright. What's with you? You've been treating me like something strange and pointy for two days."

Jack sighed. "Ianto, you're not yourself right now. And as enjoyable as last night was, I feel terrible about it now. You picking up guys at a bar… that's not like you. And you've flat out told me you're not interested in threesomes."

"So… you're telling me that you liked it, but you're annoyed that I did? Jealous, Jack?"

"No, I'm not jealous. I'm just… it's like I'm…. Ianto, this isn't you. You're doing this because of that ring, not because you've developed new interests."

"You don't need to tell me how I feel," Ianto said, pulling on a pair of trousers – ones that were _not_ pressed. "Or what my interests are," he added pointedly, grabbing a shirt and stalking out of the bedroom.

"Ianto…," Jack called, practically falling over as he tried to get dressed and hurry after Ianto at the same time. "It's just that I don't feel right about it. I feel like I'm taking advantage of you while you aren't yourself. Yan, I… I like you for who you are."

"Then you ought to deal with who I am _all_ the time, not just when it suits you," Ianto said, heading for the door of his apartment as he rolled up his shirtsleeves.

* * *

"Morning!" Ianto called, jogging through the cog door and off to the 'break room.' "Anybody got the coffee on yet?"

"Thought that was your job," Owen complained loudly. "Seems the more time he and Jack have together, the less he does round here."

"I don't think that's very fair, Owen," Gwen frowned.

"Gwen's right, Owen," Tosh said. "Jack seems to think it's something to do with that chain we scavenged. Ianto put it together and said it was some kind of ring."

"Great. I'm guessing our next excursion will be to the nearest volcano so we can destroy it? Leave me out, thanks. And where _is_ Jack anyway?"

"Right here," Jack grumbled, walking in.

"Oh, and they've had themselves a spat. Well, that sets the tone for the rest of our day," Owen moaned, heading back down to his lab to hide.

Jack didn't bother responding to that. He was tempted to just hole up in his office and make it quite obvious that he didn't want to be bothered with anything, but he needed to get this sorted. He had no idea what kind of long term effects that ring could have… but mostly he wanted Ianto back to normal.

Jack sighed and called out loudly, "Conference room. Now. Everybody." He ran down to the archives to fetch as 'Exhibit A' the ring Ianto had left there the night before.

* * *

Ianto strode casually into the conference room with a fresh cup of coffee, grabbing a chair and sitting back in it with a stretch. "Figures he calls us in here and then has to show up last. Always has to make an 'entrance.'"

"Yeah, so why exactly are we here… to discuss the particulars of your relationship issues?" Owen inquired.

"Why, hoping to get a look in?" Ianto grinned.

"Don't flatter yourself, tea-…." Owen stopped mid-insult when Ianto suddenly passed out cold in front of him.

* * *

It took Jack only a second to find the intricate little ring on Ianto's desk in the archive room, but as he picked it up it vibrated, surprising Jack and causing him to drop it. As he picked it back up, the ring unraveled into a chain of linked pieces again. Jack sighed and gingerly put it in his pocket. Ianto was going to be annoyed about that, he could tell….


	3. Chapter 3

"Jack, get up here, now!" Gwen shouted over the comms.

"Alright," Jack grumbled without tapping his mic. Seemed everybody was annoyed with him. "Coming up now, Gwen," Jack responded calmly.

"It's Ianto, Jack. He's out cold."

"What?" Jack barked, breaking into a run.

"Don't know, he's just passed out."

Jack was back in the main workspace within seconds and up to the conference room where he found Gwen and Tosh hovering over Owen who was checking Ianto's vitals.

"What happened?" Jack demanded.

"Out like a light," Owen said. "He seems fine, normal heart rate, clear breathing. Never saw anything in his medical history about syncope. No idea."

Jack stared helplessly. "I just went to grab this," he said, taking the linked rings from his pocket. "Wait… does this have something to do with it? Tosh! Get a scanner up here."

Tosh nodded and hurried to fetch a scanner from her work station. "Rift alert, Jack!" she shouted as she hurried back up the stairs.

Jack gave an exasperated sigh. "The Rift can fuck itself," he snapped.

"Instead of us for a change," Owen added.

"Maybe it's related, Jack," Gwen tried.

"Damn," Jack sighed.

"I can go, Jack. Tosh, Owen, and you are needed here."

"You know I don't like anybody going out there alone." Jack hesitated, looking at Ianto passed out on the floor. "There's probably nothing I can do to help."

"I'll go, Jack," Gwen insisted. "You _are_ needed here."

Jack knew she was right and nodded. "Go, Gwen. Be armed and _be careful_. Whatever it is, contain it if you can, but be cautious and if you can imagine me screaming to stand down – do it."

"Jack, I'm getting the same frequency on the ring and Ianto," Tosh said.

"Damn it," Jack sighed again, sitting down on the floor beside Ianto.

"Wasn't that put together before?" Tosh asked.

"Yeah. I dropped it and it unraveled. Gave a kind of a buzz when I picked it up."

"But you touched it before when you brought it up for me to monitor."

"I don't think he'd had it on before then," Jack said. "These things can be temperamental."

"So maybe if you put it back together…?" Owen suggested.

"Right…. Tosh, think you could solve it?"

"Probably, but not sure I should, Jack."

"No, you're probably right. I would likely need to do it." Jack picked up the linked rings. "I wish I had his mind for this stuff," he muttered.

"Ianto said it was a common design, didn't he? Maybe we can match it with something in the archives," Tosh said.

Owen sighed loudly. "What would Ianto be doing right now?" he asked his two colleagues.

"Trying the simplest thing first," Jack said. "Can we just Google 'puzzle ring?'"

Tosh pulled up the search engine and typed in 'solving a puzzle ring.' "This one is 12 rings… I think this is going to take some patience, Jack," she said cautiously.

"I really don't have that on my side right now," Jack grumbled as he set to following the instructions on the screen for linking the rings together just right.

After about a dozen tries and constantly having rings slip out of place, Jack finally got them all to line up and hook together in the right order. There was an almost inaudible click as the ring set itself in place again. Jack, however, was more focused on Ianto's twitching eyelids.

"Come on, Yan," he said quietly.

"Jack," Ianto mumbled. "What happened?" he asked, staring up at the ceiling. "Why am I on the floor?"

"Passed out, mate. One second you were there, next – out cold," Owen said, helping Ianto sit up.

"I need you to put this on," Jack said, holding out the ring. "I picked it up earlier and it unraveled. That might have been why you fainted."

"You and these damned mixed signals," Ianto complained, taking the ring. "Really, Jack, can't you just open up one bloody time and say what you -" Ianto slipped the ring on and stop mid-sentence, looking at his trousers. Clearing his throat, he stared at Jack. "Why did I leave the house like this? I couldn't have at least steamed them? It better have been a weevil outbreak of epic proportions…."

"Close enough," Jack said with a relieved smile.

"And what is this about?" Ianto asked, looking at the ring on his hand as he stood to take a chair at the conference table.

"Don't take it off!" Jack said quickly. "Look, we need to discuss this. Do you remember finding it a few days ago? It was just a bunch of little rings linked together. Next thing I knew, you were telling me you'd been… out on the town. Ianto, I'm pretty sure this thing is a wedding ring from another planet. I explained all this before, I don't think you remember because you weren't wearing it at the moment. I guess that's part of how these work. I've only seen it once before, another Time Agent had gotten married and explained that if he took his ring off for too long, he'd start acting like his wife. The idea was… well, everybody would know something was up, wouldn't they? So, you solved this one and I think it sort of bonded itself to you. And when you aren't wearing it… you act a lot like me. Which is understandable, but… not you."

"I see," Ianto said, though he doubted he did.

"The thing that worries me is that I don't know how it works just one way. I mean, wedding rings are normally a paired thing, and if this thing has special properties like causing you to behave differently…. I'm really not comfortable with you being the only one wearing it, you know?"

"So… what, you think it could be harmful in the long run?" Ianto asked.

"I don't know. I just don't like taking the chance."

"Then, I probably shouldn't be wearing it, should I?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I think it's more dangerous to not wear it. Seriously."

"What was it you said about this being a wedding ring? Well, we're not, are we?"

"On this planet… no."

"On _this_ planet?"

"Well… these aren't from here…. And there's only the one. So, it would only be half-married anyway."

Ianto was beginning to look worried when Gwen rang in over the comms.

"Got it, team. Looks like another of the same."

"Good work, Gwen. Get it back here," Jack responded.

Ianto looked even more concerned. One of the things was bad enough.


	4. Chapter 4

Gwen had no sooner rang off the comms but Tosh's hand-held sent up an alert about a weevil spotted near the bay.

"Busy day at Torchwood," Owen grumbled. "I'll go."

"What if you're needed here, Owen?" Tosh argued. "I'll go."

They both looked at Jack, who was pacing the conference room.

"Sorry, Tosh, but I gotta agree with Owen. I don't doubt your ability in the least, but better king than cop."

"Thanks," Owen snarked.

Jack just shrugged. "We all have unique abilities."

"Keep me on its tail, Tosh?" Owen said, heading down to his work station for weevil spray and a stun gun.

"I'll just… get some filing done," Ianto said, standing up.

"Oh, no. You're staying right here," Jack said.

"Lucky me," Ianto sighed, sitting back down. "I've got a jealous half-husband."

"Won't be _half_ as soon as Gwen's back," Tosh said, smiling.

"And to think I count you a friend," Ianto said dryly.

Tosh just smirked as she headed down to her station to keep Owen apprised of the weevil's whereabouts.

"You two have gotten close," Jack observed now that it was just the two of them.

"We have a lot in common. Anyway, not sure how anyone sustains friendships outside of this place. Though some people don't seem to have much trouble."

"My 'outside' friends are pretty much all people who have nearly as much time filtrate stuck to them as I do. And I'm _not_ jealous. I just want you safe. We don't quite know what these things can do or how touchy they are." Jack started to reach for Ianto's hand just as the door alarm went and Gwen hurried up the conference room with an evidence bag containing a dozen linked rings.

"I guess this is yours," she said, handing it to Jack.

"Yeah, great. Couldn't this one have come pre-assembled?"

"It's not that difficult, Jack," Ianto sighed.

"I don't have patience with little things. It's why I never took up embroidery."

"I'll spare us all the jokes about little _things_, shall I?"

"Talking isn't helping," Jack said irritably.

"Oh, acting like a married couple already!" Gwen teased.

Jack just glared, fumbling with the little rings and trying to make them line up just right. Finally they all set together with a tiny click and Jack set the ring down on the conference table with a long breath.

"There. Now, if you'll excuse me, work to do," Jack said calmly, standing up from the table and heading over to his office.

"Well, there're words I never hoped to hear," Ianto said.

"So what happens now?" Gwen asked.

Ianto shrugged. "Maybe nothing? That's sorted it? I've no idea."

"Yeah, but shouldn't he be wearing it? I mean, if you've got to have that on to keep you turning into another version of him…."

"Oh, that'd be why he's keen to do his work," Ianto said, looking over toward Jack's office. Ianto thought about it for a minute and grinned. "I think I'll mention it again later… _after_ Owen's back from weevil-retrieval. We should have the full team on this, after all."

Ianto used the evidence bag as a glove to pick up the ring and flipped it inside out to contain it, then slipped it into his inside pocket. Giving Jack a bit of time to make a dent in that wall of paperwork he called a desk wouldn't hurt anyone.

Ianto decided it was a good time to brew up some coffee while Owen was out. Taking a fresh mug in to Jack, he found an already significantly more tidy work space than he'd seen since Jack's months away with the Doctor. Jack glanced up with a quick smile and nod when Ianto set the coffee in front of him, but didn't stop working. It was a sight to behold in Ianto's opinion.

"Yan?" Jack said as Ianto was about to head down to Gwen and Tosh with coffee. "Apparently we were talking about going out tonight – there's a note in my incredibly underused diary to that effect. Wondered if we could do that Friday instead? Kind of a lot to catch up on here. I mean, if that's ok with you. I'll make time, either way."

"Friday's fine," Ianto said with a grin.

"Ok. I'll have some of these files down to you in…," Jack checked his watch, "half an hour?"

"I'll be ready for them."

Just then, Owen rang in over the comms to let Jack know he'd got the weevil and was bringing it in. "Right. Good. Soon as it's checked in, could you do the incident report on it? And whatever others you've got backlogged," Jack told him.

Owen's side was dead quiet for nearly a full 30 seconds. "Ianto… why do I get the feeling there's something you're leaving out?" Owen said suspiciously.

"No idea," Ianto said quickly. "Just get back here with the weevil and process it, alright?"

"Yeah, tons of work here, Owen," Jack agreed, tapping off his comms.

Ianto set the coffee tray down for a moment and stepped back over to Jack, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Finish up your coffee and I'll bring you another."

Jack caught Ianto's hand as he turned and pulled him in for a long, deep kiss before breaking for a breath. "Right… back to work," Jack said, turning back to the files in front of him like flipping a switch.

Ianto grinned and wished for a moment he could keep the newly efficient Jack.

Owen had been back at the Hub nearly an hour, resentfully working on a stack of paperwork that had probably been there since before he died, when Gwen started to get tired of listening to his grumbling and went to find Ianto.

"Don't you think you've had your fun?" she said. "I mean, I know Jack doing _work_ is a novelty and all… but inflicting Owen on us?"

Ianto sighed, setting the filing he had aside. "Yeah, I know. Guess we need to get it sorted. It was nice while it lasted," he said wistfully. He went back up to the Hub with Gwen, going up to Jack's office while Gwen rounded up Tosh and Owen.

"As much as I genuinely hate to interrupt, think we need to sort this ring business, Jack," Ianto said, looking longingly at Jack's beautifully clean desk.

Jack looked up from the last couple files. "Alright. I'll be in. I'll grab some coffees for us, too. Go ahead and start without me. Doubt I have much to add."

Ianto gave Jack a look. "How could you _not_ have much to add?"

Jack shrugged. "You all know this stuff. I'm just kind of here. I mean, things were ok without me for however long it was for you. Whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be the right thing. Just… going to finish up with these."

Ianto hated to admit that he recognized that reticence. It was the sort thing he'd say, not the sort of thing Jack would say at all. Jack's flash and overbearing self-confidence could be wearing, but Ianto had also seen through them frequently and knew that it was just a part of what made Jack… Jack.

"Hey," Ianto said, plucking the pen from Jack's hand. "Thanks for getting this stuff done, but Torchwood needs its leader more than it needs another office boy. And I need someone who drives me mad more than someone who does everything just as I would do. Come on, Jack. Work to do."


End file.
